ST 2826

Sunday Telegraph Cryptic No 2826

A full review by gnomethang

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BD Rating – Difficulty ***– Enjoyment ****

This puzzle was published on Sunday, 13th December 2015

Morning All! This was a three-star puzzle for difficulty and had some lovely observationl clues where you had to look hard to find and follow the instructions.

Please leave a comment telling us what you thought.  You can also add your assessment by selecting from one to five best!

Across

1a           Chemical used by cook a lot badly discoloured him (6,8)
SODIUM CHLORIDE- An anagram (badly) of DISCOLOURED HIM.

9a           Crime of person who sells property of others (7)
OF FENCE – Tricky to realise that we need OF from the clue and FENCE as ‘person who sells property of others’. Almost an &Lit.

10a         State of some South Americans, mostly furious when constricted? (7)
BOLIVIA – Another tricky one. Almost all the word of furious – LIVI(d) inside a BOA (i.e. to be constricted) by the snake.

11a         Team is gambling, having dropped centre half (4)
GANG – – Remove (having dropped) half of the letters, that make the centre, of GA (mbli) NG

12a         Involving more than two parties, subsequently, in case (10)
TRILATERAL – Place LATER – or subsequently – inside a TRIAL or case in law.

14a         Everything contained in spam etc wrong for customer (6)
PATRON – The instruction ‘everything contained in’ means look at the inside letters, excluding the outside letters, of sPAm eTc wRONg. Another of Mr Greer’s clues that makes you stare at what he has written!.

15a         Within firms it openly reversed corrupt employment practice (8)
NEPOTISM – A hidden (within) and backwards (reversed) answer from firMS IT OPENly.

17a         Without energy, having nothing to eat? Just the opposite (8)
FEASTING – Place FASTING outside (or without/on the outside) of E for Energy. ‘Just the opposite’ means that the definition is the opposite of the wordplay.

18a         Is concerned about one problem seen in oral examination (6)
CARIES – Cares/is concerned around the outside (about) I for one.

21a         Edible flower heads are so thick, oddly (10)
ARTICHOKES – A well spotted anagram (indicated by oddly) of ARE SO THICK.

22a         Source of wool one left out initially for Eastern monk (4)
LAMA – Remove one of the initial Ls from LLAMA (a wool supplier).

24a         Coarse material in book youngster returned (7)
BUCKRAM – Reverse (returned) the Gospel of MARK (a book in the Bible) and then a CUB or youngster.

25a         Forecast in proclamation from publicity department? (7)
PREDICT – Split as (2,5) this might be a PR EDICT or a proclamation from the P(ublic) R(elations) department. The question mark denotes the slight trickery.

26a         Initial survey, study set in period of cultural renewal (14)
RECONNAISSANCE – Place CON for study inside a RENAISSANCCE or time of cultural revolution.

Down

1d           Second best doctor accepting a temporary solution (7)
STOPGAP – A charade of S for Second, TOP for best and then place A inside a GP or doctor (A is being accepted by G P).

2d           The elite, in fact, ride all over the place (8,7)
DEFINITE ARTICLE – A short and difficult to spot definition! Make an anagram (all over the place) of ELITE IN FACT RIDE. Lovely clue with a fox-hunting feel.

3d           Part of skeleton concealed by artful natives (4)
ULNA – One of the arm bones is hidden (concealed by) the last two words in the clue.

4d           Keen to embrace that female in bright red (6)
CHERRY – HER (that female) is included in or embraced by CRY for keen/wail.

5d           Identified as beautiful woman in youth (8)
LABELLED – Place A BELLE (a beauty) inside LAD for youth.

6d           Logical about European line, concerning how connections are made (10)
RELATIONAL – RATIONAL/logical goes around (the outside of) E(uropean) and L for Line.

7d           Greater variety I had turned up, covering poet’s work (15)
DIVERSIFICATION. The poets work is VERSIFICATION. Reverse (turn up) I’D for I had and place on top (it is covering).

8d           Run into healthy male in New York area (6)
HARLEM – Place R for Run inside HALE (healthy) and add M for Male.

13d         Can let room rebuilt in Mediterranean resort (5,5)
MONTECARLO – A straightforward anagram, indicated by rebuilt, of CAN LET ROOM.

16d         Shared income cut, and money doubly so (2,6)
IN COMMON – remove one letter (cut) from INCOM(e) then remove 2 letters, cut doubly so, from the end of MON(ey). Lovely clue.

17d         Some beef, lamb, etc cooked in dramatic way (6)
FLAMBE – A hidden word (indicated by SOME) inside beeF LAMB Etc.

19d         Create colony around a port on Pacific (7)
SEATTLE – To create a colony is to SETTLE. Place this around (the outside of) A from the clue.

20d         Power needed in Asian city for site of ancient sanctuary (6)
DELPHI – Place P for Power inside DELHI – an Asian city.

23d         Greek deity in Egyptian port set up (4)
ZEUS – Reverse (set up) the port of SUEZ.

Before I go I just want to wish Brian Greer, our Sunday setter, and all denizens of the Blog a Merry Christmas. I’ll see you all some time near New Year’s Eve for the next Sunday review.